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Moscow denies talks with Georgia about CIS return

TBILISI, DFWatch — Moscow denies rumors about ongoing negotiations with Georgia to bring the country back as member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The rumors were reported a few days ago in Russian media.

Alexander Lukashevich, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry said at a briefing Thursday that Georgia rejoining CIS is not on the agenda of Russia’s relations with Tbilisi.

“As for the sensational story which journalists made ​​themselves […] Georgia returning to the CIS is not on the agenda of our relations with Tbilisi,” he said.

He said journalists didn’t correctly understand what Mr Evdokimov, First Director of the Ministry’s CIS Department, said on January 29 in Minsk.

The reports in Russian media of behind the scenes negotiations between Russia and Georgia about Tbilisi possibly reversing its decision in 2008 to leave the CIS, led to a furore, and the government declared that the country has no plans to return to CIS, while the aspirations to join EU and NATO remain unchanged.

President Mikheil Saakashvili’s National Movement dpropose a law that would bar such a move, and the governing coalition replied with an invitation to cooperate better on foreign policy issues.